1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to shipping platforms, and, more particularly, to a divisible shipping platform for supporting and transporting loads by conventional tined material handling equipment both before and after division into smaller, independent shipping platform units.
2. Background Art
For many years, industry has utilized shipping platforms for purposes of storing, handling and transporting a vast array of materials. While many of such platforms comprise pallets formed of wood, more recently several such shipping platforms have been constructed out of substantially recyclable fibrous material such as paperboard. These prior art paperboard shipping platforms have typically consisted of a top deck, a bottom deck, and pylons positioned therebetween. Such a construction allows cooperation with conventional tined material handling equipment, such as a fork lift, yet still provides the strength necessary to handle and transport heavy and sizeable loads.
Although relatively light in weight, these shipping platforms are quite burdensome with respect to their overall size. Accordingly, certain "end use" issues such as disposability and storage capability--these products cannot just simply be placed in a conventional paper compactor or other disposal container--have arisen. Indeed, to facilitate disposal in such bins or containers, without, for all practical purposes, causing the shipping platform to exceed the size limits of the compactor, or to occupy a substantial portion of the bin or container, an individual would have to exert a great deal of effort in physically dismantling and then crushing the apparatus or, in the alternative, placing the apparatus in an industrial size trash compactor not readily available to some users of such shipping platforms. Likewise, the overall size of these shipping platforms makes storage of such shipping platforms exceedingly space consuming and cost-ineffective.
Crews et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,388,531, has addressed the disposability of substantially recyclable shipping platforms. In particular, Crews et al. '531 teaches the use of frangibility lines in both the upper and lower pallet decks to facilitate reduction of the overall size of the shipping platform after use, to, in turn, facilitate disposal of the platform in a conventional trash bin or compactor. Specifically, one of the pallet decks may be completely severed along a frangibility line, while the other deck may be weakened along a corresponding frangibility line. The severed deck portion is then folded over the weakened portion of the opposite deck, thus reducing the overall size of the shipping platform for disposal.
Through such frangibility the platforms further enable the reduction of loads into smaller loads at a receiving site, storing of the smaller broken-down loads, and subsequent handling and transportation of the smaller loads. In particular, it is sometimes cost effective and/or efficient to ship materials in larger loads to a distributor or wholesaler--for instance, a warehouse or distribution center--where such materials from the warehouse or distribution center can subsequently be reduced in size without depalletizing in smaller quantities.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a shipping platform apparatus which is divisible into smaller, independent shipping platform units, wherein such division is easily accomplished with little time or effort, to accordingly facilitate subsequent use of the smaller independent shipping platform units for supporting, storing, handling and a transporting smaller broken down loads.
It is further an object of the present invention to provide a shipping platform apparatus for two-way or four-way entry into both the initial shipping platform, and the smaller, independent platform units, by conventional material handling devices.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a divisible shipping platform which is constructed of a substantially recyclable and/or biodegradable material which can be disposed after use, so as to reduce further damage to the ecology typically caused by non-biodegradable and/or non-recyclable material, while simultaneously conserving natural resources.
At the same time, it is an object to provide a low-cost, lightweight, divisible shipping platform which can be fabricated in a facilitated manner by automatic formation equipment.
It is still further an object of the present invention to provide a shipping platform apparatus which is configured to have relatively strong shear strength, without protruding fasteners, thereby enabling an increased load to be supported thereon.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent in light of the present specification and drawings.